D-LUX 3

Only a year has passed and the D-Lux 3 is already superseding its predecessor. The exterior remains virtually identical, apart from the addition of a larger display. The interior now accommodates a 10-megapixel chip. That Planet Digital spins a little faster than Planet Analogue is obvious when you look at Leica’s shortened production cycles. One year after the D-Lux 2’s market launch the camera is already being replaced by the advanced D-Lux 3. Essentially, the sensor has been increased by another 2 megapixels, now sporting 10 instead of 8. The display was widened to reproduce one of the more outstanding features of the camera in ist entirety: the 16:9 format. Together with the Panasonic sister model, the D-Lux 2 was the first of its kind to house such a wide sensor format, making for a generous panorama effect and an accentuated depth perspective (LFI 7/2005). With a 2.5-inch monitor in 4:3 format however, it displayed the 16:9 pictures between black horizontal bars. The 2.8-inch monitor of the D-Lux 3 now shows the picture in screen-filling 16:9 format.... The screen has been enlarged so much that the control buttons of the D-Lux 3 have been forced to the very edge of the body. Set to panorama format, the D-Lux 3’s CCD sensor registers an impressive 4224 by 2376 pixels. The format slider on the lens top enables you to switch the edge ratio to 3:2 format from 35 mm photography, or to 4:3 format, as is commonly found in digital compact cameras. In switching the format the pixels are simply cropped off the sides of the pictures, and the resolution drops respectively. Another rare feature which makes an appearance in both the D-Lux 3 and D-Lux 2 is the extensive focal length range of the DC Vario-Elmarit 6.3–25.2 mm f/2.8–4.9 Asph. In 35 mm terms it measures the span of a 28 to112 mm. The tiny D-Lux 3’s genuine wide-angle certainly is...